Case Number 07590

The Off Season

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All Rise...

Judge David Johnson laments this missed opportunity. Deserted New England coastal tourist communities during the winter are indeed a spooky venue (he knows, he used to live in a winter rental).

The Charge

A ghost story.

Opening Statement

This accolade from the disc case, given here in its original spelling, says
it all: "The most haunting film since The Shinning!"

Facts of the Case

A dating couple escapes the financial instability of New York and retreats to
coastal Maine to spend the winter. Rick (Don Wood) is a struggling playwright,
looking for that creative spark that will propel him to stage fame. His loyal
girlfriend Kathryn (Christina Campenella) supports his dreams, willing even to
live in a dumpy motel and work as a librarian's assistant to bring in some
money.

But their optimistic outlook quickly deteriorates as it becomes clear that
their motel room may be haunted. Kathryn is tormented by visions and bizarre
happenings (her mattress is mysteriously stained blood-red). Meanwhile, Rick
gradually turns into a super-bastard.

There is a mystery behind all of this, and Kathryn, along with her eccentric
neighbor (Angus Scrimm, Phantasm), seeks to
unravel it before she is driven completely insane.

The Evidence

The Off Season is a decent-looking, well-shot low-budget psychological
thriller, but man, is it boring. Regrettably, any nifty ideas that
writer-director James Felix McKenney was kicking around are completely
deep-sixed by the geriatric pacing of the film and an unsatisfying
resolution.

However, let's buck up and look first at what worked. As I mentioned, The
Off Season looks pretty good. McKenney employs some decent camera work to
frame his scenes (despite some gratuitousness that we'll get to later). Most of
the film takes place in one motel room, and it's a miracle they were able to
squeeze all the equipment in; but they did, and the end result is that the movie
looks nicer than it should for the tiny budget that certainly funded it.
McKenney also has a decent sense of how to pull off the scares. While there are
way too few of them (again, to be discussed later), the jump moments he
manufactures are effective. And, as is the trend in horror films these days, you
can expect the token "creepy-ass brunette" to show up a few times.
It's effective, all the same.

So the director has a good eye. Unfortunately, it's the narrative execution
that needs some serious work. While McKenney can certainly set up some
nice-looking shots, he tends to dwell on them too long. One sequence in
particular stands out: When the couple first arrives at the motel, there's an
interminable shot of the two of them following the landlady to their room. The
sequence is filmed from overhead, with the camera rigged on some kind of line,
slowly panning. It took forever and slowed the story progression down, the only
reason being, I figure, to show off what surely must have been a
pain-in-the-butt camera setup. Authentically tense moments are also diluted by
endless scenes of dialogue.

I gave McKenney props for his jump scenes, and I'll stick by that. Too bad
they happen so infrequently. The story itself is far from captivating, so the
slow-moving scenes may just be necessary to pad the run time. The first half of
the film focuses on the evaporation of Kathryn and Rick's relationship and its
apparent connection to the on-and-off supernatural oddities that Kathryn
stumbles upon. Unfortunately, the dynamic was too one-sided for me to care about
the couple. Kathryn was a selfless, giving, supportive girlfriend willing to
sleep on a blood-stained mattress, and Rick was a straight-up dick, wanting only
to focus on his career. And what a whiner this guy was! Further hampered by Don
Wood's over-the-top performance, this character setup didn't work at all.
Eventually the film comes to focus entirely on Kathryn and her hunt for the
secret behind the weird goings-on in her motel room. The Off Season takes
a Nancy Drew turn, but the payoff to the enigma is anticlimactic and
nonsensical.

In the technical department, this disc receives passing grades. A clean
1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer reflects the digital medium in which it
was shot. Detailing is sharp and the colors are strong. A 5.1 mix accompanies,
but doesn't sound any different from the alternate, shallow 2.0 stereo mix. The only extra is a robust thirty-minute behind-the-scenes documentary,
featuring making-of footage and interviews with the cast. Angus Scrimm, a
recognizable face among horror aficionados, dominates the interview segment.

Closing Statement

The Off Season's paralyzing pace and unrewarding narrative overwhelm
the few perks (some isolated scares and a nice look), making this a ghost story
to forget.